Shopping at TESCO e-shop was a good experience and we’ll continue to buy groceries online. However, it is not without it’s disadvantages. Here are a few key misses:

1. Items might not be available 4 out of about 20+ items we’ve ordered were unavailable. In that case, TESCO will substitute it with something similar e.g baby kailan was substituted with china kailan. All substituted items will be placed in a blue bag so that it’ll be easily distinguished from the original white plastic bag.

.2. Substitution might not be suitable However, not all replacements are suitable. Dutch Mushroom (200g) was replaced with sliced white button mushroom (125 g). We normally like our mushrooms whole. Most importantly was we needed at least 200 g to make mushroom soup. The substitution was simply not enough.

.3. Some products cannot be substituted Some unique items cannot be replaced. For example, we’ve ordered a TESCO canned tomatoes in tomato juice. It was not available and TESCO did not provide any substitution.

4. You might have to cancel making a special dish at the very last minute If we were shopping at the supermarket and the canned tomato in tomato juice was not available, we’ll either buy more tomatoes or make do with tomato puree instead. Without the can of tomatoes, we had to cancel our plans to make roast tomato soup (and the mushroom soup too)

5. You can’t pick the state of fresh produce (e.g ripe or unripe tomato) One of our worries about shopping for groceries online is items might not be up to our standard. We were please to find that all items were in good shape and fresh. However, we normally pick bananas that are slightly green so that we can keep it a little longer. This is not possible when we shop online.

6. Some products are not available at e-shops (e.g flowers and non-halal food) Everytime we go to the supermarket, we like to pick some fresh flowers. However, they are not available online. We couldn’t find bacon in the e-shop too and realise that TESCO does not deliver non-halal food. So if you need to buy bacon, you will still need to go to the supermarket.

7. You can’t pay by cash Unlike shopping at TESCO supermarket, at this moment TESCO e-shop does not accept cash. However, we don’t find it a problem as we prefer to purchase with credit card.

8. Only Visa and Mastercard are accepted We normally pay our groceries using our American Express for easier accounting and due to the greater rewards points. While American Express is accepted at the supermarket, currently TESCO e-shop only accept Visa or Mastercard.

9. You can’t use your discount coupons We have a few discount coupons which we keep in the purse. However, these could not be used at the e-shop.

10. You can’t do other chores We were hoping that online shopping can totally remove the need to go to the supermarket. Personally, after shopping at TESCO we will drop by Hock Hua to buy some chinese herbs. These herbs, unfortunately, are not available at TESCO’s e-shop.

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Having said that, we think that online grocery shopping is a brilliant idea and we enjoyed TESCO’s service. The website is user friendly, groceries arrived on time and the delivery person was extremely helpful.

We look forward for improved service and wider range of products. In the meantime, we’ll continue to go to brick-and-mortar supermarket and when time does not permit, shop online.

Do you prefer to shop online or go to a brick-and-mortar supermarket?

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Sara shares smart ideas to inspire busy people to live better lives. To achieve a work-life balance, she believes in equipping oneself with knowledge, outsourcing & making use of tools and technology. She's into quick & healthy meals, lifehacks, organization and productivity.